Robert Johnson Centennial: Rory Block, The Lady and Mr. Johnson

In honor of Robert Johnson’s upcoming 100th birthday, up to Johnson’s birthday on May 8th, we will be releasing a series of videos, songs, and articles on the iconic blues hero. A surprisingly wide range of artists in different time periods and genres have covered at least one of the only 27 songs Robert Johnson ever recorded. Today, Rory Block plays a strikingly faithful rendition of Johnson’s “Crossroad Blues”. Rory, who’s new tribute album to Mississippi John Hurt we recently reviewed, is one of the best delta blues players in the world. In 2007, she released The Lady and Mister Johnson, a critically acclaimed masterpiece that covered 13 of Johnson’s songs in a contemporary but authentic style, nearly note for note, which is an accomplishment most guitar players can only dream of. Here is Block playing “Crossroad Blues”.

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